Escambia County Area Transit (ECAT) representatives announced the system’s Beach Trolley service will launch on Friday, May 27. Beach trolley service is free and runs Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day Weekend.
The first Beach Trolley seasonal service was launched on Memorial Day Weekend in 1995. Since that time, ridership has played a major part in easing some of the traffic congestion and concerns along the beach.
In 2014, ridership for the beach trolley was 68,099 and increased in 2015 to 88,120 riders. The new open-air trolleys were introduced last July. The seasonal Beach Trolleys are owned by Escambia County and operated by the Escambia County Area Transit (ECAT) but, funded by the Santa Rosa Island Authority (SRIA).
Two trolleys allow riders to travel to 35 stops along the beach between Ft. Pickens and the Portofino Resort. The free trolleys will run every 15 minutes Monday through Thursday from 4 p.m. to 12 a.m. and every Friday through Sunday 11 a.m. to 12 a.m.
Beach residents can track the trolley on the ECAT website or www.visitpensacolabeach.com. The Trolley Tracker also allows riders to track the trolley on their smartphones to see when the next trolley is coming.
To learn more about the free Beach Trolley, please visit www.goecat.com or call ECAT at 850-595-3228.